...After the development with the discovery of the stele in Babylon the question developed the fairness of Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi was a ruler of Babylon and he developed many laws that the three classifications had to follow. About 40 centuries ago he ruled for about 42 years. He also had a set of 282 laws. A careful review of the relevant documents indicate the three classes of people; the law breaker, the victim, and society as a whole. Therefore, Hammurabi’s code was both just and unjust to the lawbreaker, victim, and society. Firstly, Hammurabi’s code is both just and unjust to the law breaker. The laws 53 and 54 are just for the law breaker because a man who damages his neighbor’s field is required to compensate his neighbor for the damage he has caused. Additionally, law 148 is also just because it allows a man to take a second wife if his first wife was seized by a disease. The reason for this is because he is able to have a second wife and the ability to raise a family. To demonstrate the unjustness of Hammurabi’s code for the law breaker an analysis of laws 129 and 195 is relevant. Law 129 was unjust to the law breaker because the punishment is death for an adulterous affair is too severe. Additionally, law 195 is also unjust because is a son struck his father his hands would be cut off and that’s too harsh. Therefore, Hammurabi’s code is...
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...to Hammurabi’s code a father can choose to disinherit his son. Now what even is Hammurabi’s code is the question. Hammurabi’s code is the first ever set of laws made over 4,000 years ago and it is important because it helped shape our laws we have today. These laws were made to protect the weak. I believe that Hammurabi’s code is unjust because people did not get to help make the laws or give idea’s, laws were different for different genders, and laws depended on your social class. These laws need to be the same for everyone because laws impact all people that live...
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...An Eye for the Truth The Laws of ancient civilizations may be confusing to some people nowadays, but, when put into the context of the location, time, and mindset of the people who created these laws, they become much more reasonable within that framework. In this essay, two distinct sets of laws from the ancient civilizations will be compared and contrasted; The Code of Hammurabi, by Hammurabi, the sixth Babylonian king in the 1700s B.C. and the Ten Commandments and Exodus, written, or at least attributed to Moses. The first difference that must be noted is the way that the laws are introduced, or the prologues, one obviously polytheistic, the other blatantly monotheistic. The Code of Hammurabi says in its prologue, “at that time Anum and Enlil named me to promote the welfare of the people.”1 It also mentions Igigi and Anumnaki, minor gods who attend to the major gods Enlil and Anum respectively, so very clearly a polytheistic setting there, as these gods appoint Hammurabi as the promoter of the people’s welfare. The Ten Commandments states, in contrast, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, you shall have no other gods before me.”2 This starting sentence immediately says that there is only one god, and later in the passage it also mentions as one of the laws not to create any idol.3 These two societies then might be said to have different social values in the idea that as a monotheistic person, you would be expected...
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...Question 1: Why is the Hammurabi Code considered to be so important? The Law Stele of Hammurabi or the Hammurabi code is perhaps one of the oldest, most comprehensive and influential codification of laws ever created in ancient times. The intricately chiselled basalt pillar (or Stele) upon which the codes are written is considered an historical work of art, history and literature which is now housed in the Louvre in Paris, France (André-Salvini, 2003). It towers over 7.5 feet tall and the text is chiselled into solid stone. King Hammurabi (c. 1792 – 1750 B.C.E.) commissioned its construction to create a sovereign authority of universal laws throughout the Babylonian empire and as a demonstration of his duty to the gods and the citizens (Roth, 1995). It is a collaboration of pre-existing laws gathered from around the Babylonian Empire. The Hammurabi code served as not only an educational tool to “enlighten the land [but also created legal precedent] to further the well-being of mankind” (Hammurabi, 1752 B.C.E). The sheer height and shape of the structure alone is a testament to his...
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...Persuasive Essay Capital Punishment, Appropriate or Cruel and Unusual? The roots of Capital Punishment date back as far as the Eighteenth Century B.C in the code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. During this time period there were 25 different crimes that resulted in the death penalty. As time progressed the death penalty became more of a commonplace. Throughout the centuries following King Hammurabi’s reign, the death penalty can be seen in many regions of the world. The death penalty was first seen four centuries after King Hammurabi in the Hittite Code; then in the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code of Athens, and finally in the Fifth Century B.C.'s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. What we would now call cruel and unusual, their methods of execution included crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. In the Tenth Century A.D punishment by execution became a central law of the land, starting off with 222 crimes punishable by death and then reduced to around a 100. Because America’s origins trace back to Britain our laws were influenced theirs, the death penalty being one of them. This influence of the death penalty on our nation by Britain is where issues arise. Times have changed and so have the people living within them. Where once punishment by death received little to no outcry of wrongful doing, now many believe it is an unjust and horrid act of violence. Those who oppose Capital Punishment tend to argue that taking the life of a...
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...Unit Four: Classical Civilizations: Religion and Classical Civilizations A. Read p. 23 (Yes, again.) 1. Question: What is Animism? Answer in a brief paragraph. B. Townsend Harris High School Founders Day Homework Assignment: Select a single Townsend Harris High School alum, and in a one page double spaced font size 12 typed essay (Intro Paragraph, Body Paragraph(s), Conclusion) discuss how they have had an impact on / contributed to the world. Make sure to include biographic details (Where were they born etc.?) and a discussion of their achievements. If you want to do so, list their numerous achievements after your essay. C. Read pp. 92 – 95: (Excerpts taken from) The Epic of Gilgamesh 1. In two brief paragraphs answer the questions found on page 93 Question 1: How would you define the Mesopotamian ideal of kingship? What is the basis of the monarch’s legitimacy? Question 2: What understanding of the afterlife does the epic suggest? Question 3: How does the Epic of Gilgamesh portray the gods and their relationship to humankind? D. Read pp. 95 – 97: Code of Hammurabi Question 1: What sorts of social problems afflicted ancient Mesopotamia? Question 2: To what extent was Mesopotamia patriarchal? E. Read pp. 181 – 183 Question 1: What as distinctive about the Jewish tradition? That is, what was distinctive about Judaism, what made Judaism different from many other religions of the time? F. Read pp...
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...Men and women have always been different, each having there own strengths and weaknesses, never the less each gender has played a pivotal role in the development of the world we have today. Even though Gender equality has made huges leaps in progress over human history, it is shown in early civilizations the vast differences in the treatment and expectations of men and women. In this essay three primary source documents will be reviewed and analyzed, to clearly pinpoint the key similarities and differences regarding gender relations. Each source document will be relating to a different civilization at a different time. It is important to note that even in similar historical time frames gender roles ranged greatly from one civilization or empire...
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...“What is Business Ethics?” Essay Posted on July 5, 2012 1 Introduction Dated back to Code of Hammurabi some 4,000 years ago, business ethics is a social science, whose main aim is to define and examine the responsibilities of businesses and their agents as a part of the general moral environment of a given society. The products of this field of research are sets of rules and codes of conducts, which serve as a means of protection from the possible infringements of moral codes as a result from the general activities and responsibilities of a firm to its stakeholders (e.g. generating profits for shareholders and taxes to the government). This paper will briefly explain the foundations and the growing importance of business ethics in today’s economy. Finally, it will describe several contemporary issues of research and practice. 2 The Rationale behind Business Ethics In its simplest sense, the field of business ethics represents the meeting point between ethics and business, where business decisions and their implementation are evaluated in terms of the “right” (moral) and “wrong” (immoral). However, ethical decision-making is far from being simple, as is involves much greater complexity and debate (Trevino & Brown, 2004) than other ethical fields, even complicated ones such as bioethics. The main reason for this confusion is not only the themes of business ethics, but the difficulty to recognize the relevance of ethics to the business decision in question. For example,...
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...Running head: CORRECTIONAL THEORY PAPER ON RETRIBUTION WITH HISTORY Discussion of Retribution with History and its Practice Abstract Retribution is one of the most important theories in our criminal justice system today. In this essay we will look at the key elements, the history, the future and the modern application of Retribution in our society. Discussion of Retribution in Corrections Introduction The first theory that will be discussed is Retribution. Retribution is a form of punishment that is sometimes mistaken as revenge but is actually a legitimate punishment philosophy because it has three key elements that are; formal penal sanction, equity, and just deserts (Alarid, Pg.24). Retribution is the punishment given to an offender for a crime that is morally right and is fully deserved. The reason retribution really defers from revenge is the three elements above. The formal penal sanction of it is when a law has been broken and action is taken for the good of the public. The next element is equity; this is to make sure that people that commit the same crime get similar punishment and are treated the same. The final element of retribution is just deserts; this is to make sure that the punishment is proportional to the seriousness of the offense and the culpability of the offender. This is what retribution is and now we can look at the history of it. The history of Retribution can reach back a long way in our history. If you look at these words from the...
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...Argument for Capital Punishment Since the 1970's, almost all capital sentences in the United States have been imposed for homicide. There has been intense debate among Americans regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment. Critics charge that executions are violations of the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the Eighth Amendment; while supporters of the death penalty counter that this clause was not intended to prohibit legal executions. In the 1972 court case of Furman vs. Georgia , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was no longer legal. However, in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the court allowed capital punishments to resume in certain states, and shortly thereafter, Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in Utah. Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States,a separate penalty trial has been required for some capital cases, at which time the jury reviews circumstances that suggest the need for capital punishment. In 1982, Texas became the first state to execute a prisoner using lethal injection; other common methods of execution used in the United States include lethal gas and electrocution. In recent years, the Supreme Court has made it more difficult for death row prisoners to file appeals. Nearly 3 of 4 americans support the death sentence as a form of punishment. The other third has condemned it and their list of claims against it is long. Opponents challenge proponents on issues of deterrence, economics, fallibility...
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...Since the 1970's, almost all capital sentences in the United States have been imposed for homicide. There has been intense debate among Americans regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment. Critics charge that executions are violations of the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the Eighth Amendment; while supporters of the death penalty counter that this clause was not intended to prohibit legal executions. In the 1972 court case of Furman vs. Georgia , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was no longer legal. However, in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the court allowed capital punishments to resume in certain states, and shortly thereafter, Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in Utah. Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States,a separate penalty trial has been required for some capital cases, at which time the jury reviews circumstances that suggest the need for capital punishment. In 1982, Texas became the first state to execute a prisoner using lethal injection; other common methods of execution used in the United States include lethal gas and electrocution. In recent years, the Supreme Court has made it more difficult for death row prisoners to file appeals. Nearly 3 of 4 americans support the death sentence as a form of punishment. The other third has condemned it and their list of claims against it is long. Opponents challenge proponents on issues of deterrence, economics, fallibility, and rehabilitation. Their...
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...Alan Badel English 100/Major Essay #2 Professor Raymond Morris 23 October 2015 The Fight Club Aims to Free Individuals from Society’s Emasculating Shackles Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club is an exciting fictional novel that will hold the audience captive following three revolving main characters in Marla Singer, Tyler Durden, and the narrator himself as they take the reader through confusing twists and perspectives, while providing a most revealing closure. Although the title suggests an exclusive organization focused on violence, the novel describes the emasculation of man in today’s modern age of consumerism, societal associations and family structure along with the main and sub-characters’ exercising of power and submission to power as evident throughout the novel. Chuck Palahniuk’s values illustrate in the novel how humanity is being enslaved by the power of consumerism, brought to general awareness a new mental disorder, and how he portrayed the narrator having experienced or enacted numerous anarchistic efforts in the hopes of being freed from the confines of an industrialized and necessity-driven society. It should also be noted that several rebellious acts were performed by the fight club members and subsequently members of Project Mayhem in order to gain notoriety and power in response to being economically and socially subdued. To understand the novel’s numerous projection of emasculation, masculinity will need to be established. Man’s foundation of masculinity...
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...Whenever the word "death penalty" comes up, extremists from both sides start yelling out their arguments. One side says deterrence, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent person; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. Regardless of people’s philosophic points of view, it is important to be aware of the facts. This is exactly what I would like to talk about in this essay: the facts regarding this controversial issue. I do not have the answer to this question; I believe both viewpoints have good arguments. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion in this or any other matter, but no one is entitled to his own facts. What is the death penalty? Congress or any state legislature may prescribe the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, for murder and other capital crimes. (Death Penalty: An Overview, 2010) As far back as the Ancient Laws of China, the death penalty has been established as a punishment for crimes. In the 18th Century BC, the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon established the death penalty for twenty five different crimes, although murder was not one of them. The first death sentence historically recorded occurred in 16th Century BC Egypt where the wrongdoer, a member of nobility, was accused of magic, and ordered to take his own life. During this period non-nobility was usually killed with an ax. (Reggio, M. 2005) The first recorded execution in the English American colonies was...
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...the existence of Human Rights? In this essay, the main distinctions of Hobbes and Lock’s work will be discussed and how their work contributed to the existence of human rights. Other predominant thinkers, such as Bentham and Marx will be brought in to critically evaluate Hobbes and Lock’s attempts on human rights. Finally a conclusion will be drawn upon these points to state whether Hobbes or Locke was Successful to justify the existence of human rights or whether there were any flaws in their thinking. “Human rights are the rights that everyone has, and everyone equally, by virtue of their very humanity. They are grounded in an appeal to our human nature.” (R.T Vincent, human rights and international relations, page 13). Human rights are a concept that has been constantly evolving throughout human history. They had been intricately tied to the laws, customs and religions throughout the ages. One of the first examples of a codification of laws that contain references to individual rights is the tablet of Hammurabi, which was created 4000 years ago, it is considered barbaric by today's standards, the system of 282 laws created a model for the legal system. This kind of model and legally binding document protects the people from arbitrary persecution and punishment. The problems with Hammurabi's code were mostly due to its cause and effect...
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...Elias himself was aware of this, and in later writings he 1 Journal of World History, Vol. 3, No. 1 © 1992 by University of Hawai‘i Press *This is the slightly abridged text of the first Norbert Elias lecture, delivered at the University of Leicester on 6 March 1991. 1 For further information on the book and its background, see Stephen Mennel, Norbert Elias: Civilization and the Human Self-Image (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989). See also Hermann Korte, Über Norbert Elias: Das Werden eines Menschenwissenschaftlers (Franklurt: Suhrkamp, 1988); Johan Goudsblom, Sociology in the Balance (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1977), pp. 143–50; Goudsblom, “Responses to Norbert Elias’s Work,” in Peter R. Gleichmann et al., eds., Human Figurations: Essays for / Aufsätze für Norbert Elias (Amsterdam: Amsterdams Sociologisch Tijdschrift, 1977), pp. 37–98;...
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